Internet usage has exploded over the past several years and continues to grow. People have become very comfortable with many services offered on the World Wide Web (or simply “Web”), such as electronic mail, online shopping, gathering news and information, listening to music, viewing video clips, looking for jobs, and so forth. To keep pace with the growing demand for Internet-based services, there has been tremendous growth in the computer systems dedicated to hosting Websites, providing backend services for those sites, and storing data associated with the sites.
One type of distributed computer system is an Internet data center (IDC), which is a specifically designed complex that houses many computers for hosting Internet-based services. IDCs, which also go by the names “Webfarms” and “server farms”, typically house hundreds to thousands of computers in climate-controlled, physically secure buildings. These computers are interconnected to run one or more programs supporting one or more Internet services or Websites. IDCs provide reliable Internet access, reliable power supplies, and a secure operating environment.
FIG. 1 shows an Internet data center 100. It has many server computers 102 arranged in a specially constructed room. The computers are general-purpose computers, typically configured as servers. An Internet data center may be constructed to house a single site for a single entity (e.g., a data center for Yahoo! or MSN), or to accommodate multiple sites for multiple entities (e.g., an Exodus center that host sites for multiple companies).
The IDC 100 is illustrated with three entities—entity A, entity B, and entity C—that share the computer resources. These entities represent various companies that want a presence on the Web. The IDC 100 has a pool of additional computers 104 that may be used by the entities at times of heavy traffic. For example, an entity engaged in online retailing may experience significantly more demand during the Christmas season. The additional computers give the IDC flexibility to meet this demand.
Today, large IDCs are complex and often called upon to host multiple applications. For instance, some websites may operate several thousand computers, and host many distributed applications. These distributed applications often have complex networking requirements that require operators to physically connect computers to certain network switches, as well as manually arrange the wiring configurations within the IDC to support the complex applications. As a result, this task of building physical network topologies to conform to the application requirements can be a cumbersome, time consuming process that is prone to human error. Accordingly, there is a need for improved techniques for designing and deploying distributed applications onto the physical computing system.